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Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Joy of Zesting

Some days, when I don't feel like cooking, I oh-so-casually suggest to Joey that we fire up the grill... because if there's one thing my man loves (besides yours truly, of course), its grilling. Early on in grilling season, we Joey made an amazing batch of kabobs (kebobs? kebabs?). We were both craving them again, but given that the main ingredient in the marinade is Miracle Whip, we knew they weren't the healthiest thing we could eat. I've also been trying to avoid processed foods to see if my migraines improve at all with a more natural diet, and Miracle Whip is... well, pretty processed.

So we set off to find a healthier, but equally delicious, kabob recipe. I was inspired by the Clean Eating Kebob recipe I found on The Gracious Pantry website (Please, go check it out! Tiffany does an incredible job not only creating her own healthy recipes, but also taking pictures of her creations that look so yummy, I pretty much want to lick the computer monitor.)

The recipe first caught my eye because it called for lemon zest. Yessss! A chance to use that sweet zester we got for a wedding present. I just knew registering for it was a crucial step in starting our lives together.


I made several adaptations to Tiffany's recipe - she called for just chicken and asparagus, but I used the tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and onions that I had on hand. Her recipe also calls for a ground herb called savory. I checked in two stores and neither of them carried savory, so I substituted Mrs. Dash Original Blend Seasoning. I figured it tastes pretty savory any time I've ever used it, so its pretty much the same thing... right?


Lemon Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1 large zucchini, cut into chunks
  • 1 large yellow squash, cut into chunks
  • 1 white onion, cut into chunks (red onions are great for grilling, but I avoid them cuz I usually taste 'em for days. TMI? Sorry.)
  • 2 tsp Mrs. Dash
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp olive oil
Directions
  1. Place all the ingredients in a large dish and mix it up, so chicken and veggies are coated with oil and herbs.
  2. Optional step: Cover and marinate chicken and veggies up to one hour in the refrigerator. (I was too impatient for this step.)
  3. Skewer the chicken and veggies. Make sure you create a beautiful pattern. They taste better that way, promise.
  4. Hand skewers to husband for grilling - 10 to 15 minutes on the grill, turning kabobs after 5 to 7 minutes 
Simple as that! And for those of you who don't love zesting lemons quite as much as I do, you can find the original Miracle Whip kabob recipe here. Enjoy!


4 comments:

  1. Oh my that looks so delicious! I found you via the GFC blog hop and am happy to be your newest follower! I'd love a visit back at http://www.two-in-diapers.blogspot.com! :)

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  2. My favorite was the comment on how necessary ur zester was. Hahaha! Nice.

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    Replies
    1. Of course! I hope you registered for one, too :)

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  3. Next time you make those, I'll expect an invite... They look delicious! Btw, I can totally hear your voice when reading your blogs. Love it!

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